Recently, ultrasound image clips (i.e., a series of ultrasound image frames) have been stored in a digital format for playback on an ultrasound image review system, such as an ultrasound image review station. In some image review systems, a CPU transfers ultrasound image clips stored in a memory unit to a video display system (e.g., a video display card), which formats the image clips for display on a monitor. Multiple video display systems can be used to display image clips on multiple monitors. In many medical applications, it is important to display the frames of an ultrasound clip at the same rate at which the frames were originally acquired. However, hardware limitations of the ultrasound review system often result in the display of ultrasound image clips at a lower frame rate, especially when multiple ultrasound image clips are displayed on one or more monitors.
Some ultrasound image clips require a bus bandwidth of 30 MB/sec to be displayed at full frame rate. Since the bandwidth of a standard peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus between the CPU and the video display system is typically about 60 MB/sec, only two ultrasound image clips can be displayed per monitor without a degradation in frame rate. Although some review systems have an accelerated graphics port (AGP) with a bandwidth of about 120 MB/sec that can be used to display up to four ultrasound image clips without frame rate degradation, there is only one AGP bus per review station. Thus, by using both the AGP and PCI buses, the review system can display no more than six ultrasound clips between two monitors (four on one monitor and two on the other) without frame rate degradation.
Additionally, many review systems store compressed ultrasound image clips in the memory unit of the review system for increased storage density. Typically, the CPU executes a software program to decompress these clips before sending them to the video display system for display. Because of power limitations, the CPU often cannot execute the decompression program quickly enough to avoid degradation in the frame rate of the displayed ultrasound clips.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method and system for simultaneously displaying diagnostic medical ultrasound image clips that will overcome the problems described above.
The present invention is defined by the following claims, and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation on those claims.
By way of introduction, the preferred embodiments described below include a method and system for simultaneously displaying diagnostic medical ultrasound image clips on one or more monitors without degradation in display frame rate. In one preferred embodiment, compressed ultrasound image frames are sent to a video display system for decompression. Because compressed image frames are sent, there is no degradation in frame rate caused by the bandwidth limitations of the CPU/video display system bus. Further, because the video display system decompress the compressed image frames faster than decompression software executed by a CPU, there is no degradation in frame rate caused by power limitations of the CPU. The video display system can also be used to control the frame rate, luminance, and size of individual ultrasound image clips. The preferred video display system described herein finds particular utility in ultrasound examinations performed in cardiac, radiological, obstetrical, and neo-natal ultrasound examinations.
The preferred embodiments will now be described with reference to the attached drawings.